Website or shop first

[sazzledazzle]

Could anyone help me with this question. I am not sure whether to set up a website first for my business, whilst looking for a retail unit, or whether to wait until I have the shop up and running.
has anyone done something similar. Is anyone able to advise.

[creative-keyrings]

I would say open up your business on the internet, would certainley be a damn site cheaper than renting or buying a place.

contact this webdesigner to discuss your needs www.breamteam.com . I use him friendly and great service, he will help you get a shop online!


Regards,

Callum

[Richard Conyard]

Sazzle,
Silly question, but what do you do? Obviously you're retailing some form of goods, but depending on what they are (how specialised etc.), will certainly influence the answer.

[sazzledazzle]

Sorry did not explain what I was going to be selling.
I am looking to sell modern art works, modern interiors such as glassware, accessories, jewellary.
I have given up my current role and am on garden leave, and am looking for a shop. In the meanwhile I was thinking that getting my website up and running first would be a good idea, to bring in some cash for now.

[sazzledazzle]

Thank you callum for that website address, I have asked them to contact me to discuss.

[thekitchendesigner]

Hi sazzledazzle

I agree with Callum, start on the net, prove the business for a while and then assess.

Starting on the net will be a lot cheaper to begin with. You may even find you dont need a shop/unit - if the website is good and does well, you could rely on that.

Plus maybe think about asking related businesses to display you works/products on a referral basis or comission on related sales basis (i read your intro post, so know you want to sell art & home acc!).
As an example, i know a successful local estate agent and asked them to promote design services for kitchens when the sell properties, in return for a % comission on any resulting sales. Cross promoting basically, but using offline to promote online.

Hope that makes sense!

Mark

P.S - Welcome to the forum, its soooo useful here!

[sazzledazzle]

Thanks mark for the response. I shall try the website, and speak to other companies to see if I can cross sell. We have a lot of new builds going on hear to may try to see if I can supply their show room for free, in return for advertising.

[thekitchendesigner]

Sounds good.

A really nice piece of art on the wall, with a smart little plaque underneath saying "available from www.yourwebsite.com"

Enjoy the forum!

[Richard Conyard]

Sazzle,
With your specialist product base then the web if done properly should be a good starting ground (especially since the cost of setting up a store to display the goods in the surroundings that they should be seen in is prohibative).

Since you're in Kent as well you might like to talk to our sister company Red Ant Design. The portfolio can be found: http://www.redantdesign.com/portfolio/default.asp

Outside of the website a few questions you should be asking are:
Product management and views on the products (are you going to have to get the web design company involved each time to make it look good?)
SEO and PPC - With the latest google update just completed it will take a little while for the next run of listings to be put together, how will this stand up to your cashflow expectations
Security (obivous one)
Do you need any stock management and the such like or will it all be managed by yourself offline.

[sazzledazzle]

Does anyone have an idea of what kind of money i am looking at for a basic retail website?

[Richard Conyard]

It changes depending on what you want and which company you go with.

To get something very basic you are probably looking at @ £500 (although there are cheeper).

To get something which probably does what you want and looks the part properly you are probably looking at between £5K and £10K.

Although that said no one knows exactly what you want ;-)

[mattk]

I would definitely go for a Web site first. For relatively little outlay you will be able to start taking orders and building up cashflow.

As for costs - around £500 is the minimum for a site with online shopping facilities, but remember, having a site is one thing, having customers is an all together different matter.

For £10k I'd want an all singing, all dancing site that is like nothing else on the Net.

[SillyJokes]

Points to bear in mind when thinking of the website.

Will people be looking for what you are selling or are you offering something that people have never seen before?

Can you get across on the web the exact nature of what it is you are selling, it's texture and quality.

If it is high quality and therefore high priced can you get that across on a cut price website?

If the items are delicate remember shipping them can be a nightmare and it is your responsibilty to get it to the client in one piece.

Getting visitors to a new website in a cost effective way can be extremely hard in the first year before you get listed properly on the web and you may struggle to see those first sales.

I would choose your web designer very carefully indeed. Look for one with a history of successful ecommerce sites under their belt who can make your site look like the dog's pyjamas but work really simply. And don't get sucked into a flash website.

Good luck with it.

[sazzledazzle]

Thank you everyone with your advice. I have never been on a forum like this before and it has been an amazing help.

[Hayles]

Hi

We all know an artist who would be an excellent supplier for your modern art! :wink:

I'm sure she'll be along soon with some details,

Hayles

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[Richard Conyard]

what an informative post ;-)

[www.sitepal.co.uk]

Could anyone help me with this question. I am not sure whether to set up a website first for my business, whilst looking for a retail unit, or whether to wait until I have the shop up and running.
has anyone done something similar. Is anyone able to advise.

if you have the money and know of the right location then open up a shop first

you may find that it will take a long time for your internet site to make money.

good luck

[RSL]

A website may seem like the easier solution but why not try a market stall to test your product out first. Book a stall in your local area market for a month or so to test reaction and guage demand. This will help you in terms of market research.

Getting traffic to a website is very hard and sometimes its more cost effective to go to the customer rather tahn waiting for them to come to you.

Kind regards,

Ronke

[Robert]

Sazzle.

I'm going to go against the flow and say you need to sell retail and ignore the internet.

The items you have mentioned traditionally do not sell well over the internet. They are very touchy-feely products which are best tried on, or examined closely before they will be bought.

I know because I have tried to sell art and jewellery over the net and failed spectacularly, even though I'm sure I did all the right things. Some things are not easily sold over the net.

[RSL]

Again I re-iterate Robert's point...start off small if only with a small market stall.